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W. L. MORRISON INSULATED CONTAINER Filed Aug. 5, 1960 INV EN TOR. Aka Alma/sou BY PARA/e 6km Arron/5x9 Oct. 8, 1963 effective insulator.

` f 3,106,307 INSULATED Contraintes Willard L. MorrisonJ Lake Forest, ill., assigner' to Lierrefreeze Company, Inc., New York, NX., a corporation of New York Fiied Aug. 3, 1960 Ser. No. 47,224 9 Claimso (Cl. 22.0--9')V This` invention relates to improvements in insulation and has for one 'object to provide a multi-stage insulation which has maximum efficiency and does not sutferas a resul-t of excessive temperature changes.

Foarned plastic panels of polyurethane containing Freon gas are well known to provide exceptionally effective insulation because the Freon gas is an exceedingly However, this Freon Vat atmospheric pressure liquiiies at 40 degrees F. so if such a poly- United States Pate-nt O v B'ygrf? Patented Oct. 8, i963 ice i ture but the temperature gradient through such panel will rise so that the temperature at the outer surface adjacent said polyurethane will be above the `danger point and thus Vthe polyurethane isv protected.

Y This is a rapid operation. The freezing of the food by e liquid nitrogen takesplace in a matter of minutes. Nitrourethane panel is cooled down below -401 degrees F., the

fgas liquelies, vacuums are formed in the'beads and air penetrationresults, thus decreasing the eiectiveness of the insulation. vThen when thetemperature rises and the Freon boils andbecomes again a gas, it is mixed with air so its insulation eiiect is diluted. If there are ,1 several changes in temperature above and below -40 degrees F., this breathing of air will very'4 soon greatly decrease the insulation eiect `of the polyurethane.

A polystyrene on the other hand, which contains air4 while vnot as `good an insulator as Freon laden polyurethane, is much cheaper. Air is a `better conductor than Freon and remains a gas down to below ,320l degrees F. Temperatures `iai' below 40 degrees F.v do not have any deleterious effect on suchA polystyrene and it remains just as good an insulation `as it was before such low temperatures were met.

It isproposed to taire advantage of the different characteristicslof two such insulating bodies by using them in combination, a layer or layers of` air laden polystyrene v gen disappears and there is insutiicient time for the temperature gradient to result in deleteriously cooling of the polyurethane and a static temperature condition 4is reached at which the inner heat iiow which is important is from outside ambient-air through the polyurethane and the polystyrene to the food.

It is this static temperature condition which is so important because in actual practice, foodstuiis cooled by the liquid nitrogen must be shipped or stored for long periods without rising to a danger temperature and it is duri-ng that time that 'the insulation qualities ofthe polyurethane are so important. I'

v.We thus have two conditions to guard against. We need to use said polystyrene, a relatively inefficient insulation but one which does not suffer from excessive cold to protect said polyurethane and then later, we need to use W said polyurethane a very eicient insulatiornplus the exposed to the cold, protecting lan inner layer of Freon ladenpolyurethane from the extreme cold. v

This is especiallyapplicable to containers wherein food stuff lis to be frozen and shipped by the luse of liquid nitrogen at` atmospheric pressure. A container having a housingwallenclosing a cold chamber is lined with alayer of Freon laden polyurethane panels and an inner Vlayer of air containing polystyrene panels, all thelpanels being tree to expand .and contract,and'move7 independent of one another and independent of the housing so long as they areheld in proper place therein. Then when food is in the` cold chamber and liquid nitrogen at --320` degrees F.V is poured in wetting thecontents of the chamber and the chamber Walls, the effect of the said polystyrene insulationv is nowise changed. VExtreme cold does not damage it but the insulating effect of such polystyrene protects such polyurethane so that the polyurethane does not fall to a temperature as low as 4U Idegrees F. during thctime the liquid nitrogen is present.l v Y u i As the liquid nitrogen boils from the heat of the food,

polystyrenev to protect the contents from ambient heat from the outside.

Since containers of this kind are shipped all over the country, inv fact all over the world, it can also happen that they are exposed on the outside to wide extremes of ternperature. The container may be subjected to ambient temperatures in the order of 40 degrees F. or lower in Canada and United States or other parts of the world.

Such temperatures, just like the temperatures of the liquid nitrogen, will have -a deleterious eiect on the gas which liqueiies at such low temperatures. Under some circumstances therefore, it isdesira-b'le to have not two but three layers, an outside layer and an inside layer, for

vexample of said polystyrene with a central layer of the more-effective insulation, said polyurethane.

f These layers or panels may be continuous panels orthey may be separate blocks. They must be free to warp, to

expand and contract with respect to each other and withV A respect to the outer wall and inner lining of the container so that no matter how they expand and contract they will not ltear themselves apart, will not damage each other and will maintain a generally continuous wallof insulation.v

rIlhe panels may be lheld ytogether edge to edge 'by springs as shown in my co-pending application Serial No. 784,662, tiled VJanuary 2, 1959, now Pate-nt No. 3,029,957, and the clearances between the panelsand the walls of the housing may be filled with tlowing, discrete, pulverulent material as shown'in my co-pending applications Serial No; 77 5,5%, led November 2l, 1958, now Pat-ent No. 2,969,154, and

f Seri-al No. 770,068, tiled October 30, 1958, now Patent No.

it -is dissipated and discharged asr gas from the container. 1

Only enough liquid nitrogen is supplied to lower `the temper'ature to a predetermined desired point 'andthen no further liquid is added. As soon as the liquid has disappeared, the temperature of the food in the container will .not be *320* degrees F. |but something ,above that, perhaps -40, -50 ori-1li() degrees F. The inner surface of said polystyrene panel will be at the minimum temperaor lshipped are packed. The chamber is ported :at 4. The details of the port, forming no part of the invention, are not illustrated.

In the space between the walls 1 and 2 is an insulating body which is loosely socketcd therein. That insulating body includes slabs of self-supporting, relatively stift, insulating material 5, for example, Freon laden polyurethane. Both inside and outside of this slab of polyurethane are slabs 6 and 7 of air containing polystyrene. These slabs are arranged edge to edge and are loosely contained within the space between the walls and 2 and are free to change `size and shape in response to temperature variations.

The inner and outer polystyrene slabs are thinner than the polyurethane slab and the joints between the slabs are staggered.

This container is intended for use in connection with the cooling, storage and shipment of food and is especially intended for use in connection with the situation where the food is frozen by pouring into the container after the food is packed in it, a Ilow of liquid nitrogen at atrnospheric pressure and temperature of 320` degrees F., which nitrogen will, as it cools the food, tend to cool the insulation.

Such containers are also used for shipment where they are subjected to very low ambient temperatures even below 40 degrees F. and the ambient temperature tends to cool the insulation.

The polyurethane is a foamed plastic which contains gaseous Freon. The polystyrene is a foamed plastic which contains air. Freon is a lmuch more effective insulator than air so polyurethane with Freon is a much more effective insulation body than polystyrene with air. Also, of course, such polyurethane is more expensive but polyurethane has `one disadvantage. The Freon becomes a liquid at approximately -40 degrees F. When it liquefies, it creates a vacuum and the vacuum may cause air infiltration into the body of the plastic. When later the Freon evaporates again there is `a mixture of Freon and air present and as a result the refrigeration quality of the polyurethane is decreased. Every time polyurethane is exposed to 40 degrees F. temperature, it -rnay breathe and gradually and progressively lose its insulation advantage over polystyrene.

It is to protect this polyurethane against the excessive cooling that I provide the layer or layers of air containing polystyrene so that even though the out-side face of the polystyrene is exposed to temperatures which would harm the polyurethane, the temperature gradient through polystyrene would be such that the polyurethane would be protected.

lf it is known in advance that the container will not be exposed to Ioutside temperatures in the order of 40 degrees F., then the outer layer of polystyrene could well be omitted.

The reason why the outer layers of polystyrene are thinner than the layers of polyurethane is to minimize distortion of the slab exposed to greatest `temperature variation. A thin layer of the foamed plastic insulation warps less than a thick one. A thin layer is much less likely to fracture itself than a thick one so by providing thin layers of polystyrene to protect the relatively thick layer of polyurethane, an etective combination of lthe two different types of insulation is achieved.

Polystyrene and `polyurethane have been suggested because they are well known, useful types of insulation. The point is that l have two kinds of self-supporting, independent insulating bodies having different characteristics. One is more elective than the other under ordinary circumstances but is subject to deterioration. The other is not so effective but it does not deteriorate so what I propose to do is to use the less expensive, less effective, more insensitive insulation as a shield to protect the more expensive, more effective, more sensitive insulation.

These two oamed plastics are cited as illustrative of a i situation where one type of insulation is more effective, under some circumstances, than the other but is subject to deterioration and may be protected by the other type.

I claim:

l. in combination a plurality of separate independent foamed plastic insulation panels arranged side by side in loose contact with one another, free to move, expand, warp and contract independent of each other responsive to temperature variation, one panel comprising air laden polystyrene, another panel comprising Freon laden polyurethane, the polystyrene panel being on the side ot' lthe assembly expected to be exposed `to lowest tcmpe'aturc.

2. ln combination a plurality of separate independent foamed plastic insulation panels arranged side by side in loose contact with one another, free to move, expand, warp and contract independent of each other responsive to temperature variation, a panel on the side ot the assembly expected to be exposed to lowest temperature containing a gas which at atmospheric pressure remains in gaseous phase down to temperatures as low as 320 degrees F., another panel on the side of the assembly expected to be exposed to warmer temperature containing a gas which at atmospheric pressure liquelies at temperatures above 320 degrees F.

3. ln combination a plurality of separate independent foamed plastic insulation panels arranged side by side in loose contact with one another, free to move, expand, warp and contract independent of each other responsive to temperature variati-0n, one panel containing air, another panel containing Freon in gaseous phase, the panel containing air being on the side of the assembly expected to be exposed rto the lowest temperature.

4. ln combination three separate, independent, foamed plastic insulation panels arranged side by side in loose contact with one another, free to move, expand, warp and contract independent of each other in response to temperature variation, the central one of the three panels containing Freon in gaseous phase, the other two panels containing air.

5. In combination three separate, independent, foamed insulation panels arranged side by side in loose contact with one another, free to move, expand, warp and contract independent of each other in response to temperature variation, the central one of the three panels containing a gas which at atmospheric pressure l-iquefies at temperatures in the order of -40 degrees F., the other two panels containing a gas which at atmospheric pressure remains in gaseous phase down to the temperature of liquefaction of air.

6. In combination three separate, independent, foamed insulation panels arranged side by side in loose contact with one another, free to move, expand, warp and contract independent of each other in response to temperature variation, the central one of the three panels being of Freon laden polyurethane, .the other 4two panels consisting of air containing polystyrene.

7. In an insulating container, an outer supporting wall enclosing a storage chamber, an insulating lining for the wall loosely held, including inner and outer layers of foarned plastic, the outside layer containing a gas which becomes liquid at atmospheric pressure and temperature in the order to -40 degrees F., the inner layer containing a gas which becomes a liquid at atmospheric pressure and the liquefaction temperature of air, the layers being self-supporting and free, responsive to temperature changes, to expand, contract and change shape independent of each other and of the supporting wall.

8. An insulating container including an outer supporting Wall enclosing a storage chamber, an insulating lining for the wall loosely held therein, including an outer layer of polyurethane Freon laden foarned plastic and an inner layer of air laden polystyrene teamed plastic, each layer being self-supporting and free, responsive to temperature changes to expand, contract and change shape independent of each other and ofthe supporting `wall. Y

9. In an insulating container, yan outer supporting Wall enclosing a storage chamber, an insulating lining for the wall loosely held, including inner and outer layers p of foarned plastic, each layerkincluding a multiplicity of change shape independent of each other and of the supporting Wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Holbrook Sept. l5, 1936 Dietrechson Dec. 31, 1940 Norqnist Oct. 25, 1949 Morrison May 15, 1951 Gangler et al. Jan. 29, 19577 Morrison Jan. 24, 1,961

Shih-Woo Lou May 1, 1962 

4. IN COMBINATION THREE SEPARATE, INDEPENDENT, FOAMED PLASTIC INSULATION PANELS ARRANGED SIDE BY SIDE IN LOOSE CONTACT WITH ONE ANOTHER, FREE TO MOVE, EXPAND, WARP AND CONTRACT INDEPENDENT OF EACH OTHER IN RESPONSE TO TEMPERATURE VARIATION, THE CENTRAL ONE OF THE THREE PANELS CONTAINING FREON IN GASEOUS PHASE, THE OTHER TWO PANELS CONTAINING AIR. 